LED Fan/Party Light

Introduction: LED Fan/Party Light

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Are you bored with dinner parties? Are you looking for a simple way to make your next get together a little snazzier? Then this simple circuit is the project for you.
This instructable will teach you to create a mercury switch that will morph your ceiling fan from a dull wind machine into an LED light show. The basics are simple; turn your fan on and the lights will shine--pointed towards the ceiling or to the floor. Turn the fan off, and it's a subtle sign to your guests that they have eaten all of your food and drank all your boos, and it's time for them to head home.

There are a few different ways to achieve the party experience, depending on your intended level of awesomeness:

Step 2: Putting Together the Circuit

Step 1)
Get the Project board to the right size, I cut my 4"x3" board into three pieces, which brought the size of each one closer to 3"x1". Just make sure you take your time while cutting so the copper solder points on the back do not flake off.

Step 2)
Test your circuit. This is very important to do while trying something new. You wouldn't want to solder everything together and find out that it doesn't work, or one of the components were bad. There is a diagram below of the circuit, along with pictures of how I soldered it onto the projeect board.

NOTE:
In this case I did not use any resistors because the LED's that I am using need 3.3 volts, and the power source is 3 volts. Since they are being under powered already, I skipped the resistor. If you add a resistor to these you are going to be under powering them even more. However, some people say that LED's ALWAYS need resistors (which is a good thing to stick by). Your call on this one, party animal.

Step 3: Final Touches

Step 3)
Now that you have the circuit all set up, you are ready to attach them to the fan. I used "Sticky Tack", which a blue sticky clay that allows you to easily attach and easily remove items without leaving any perminant marks. You can attach them however you want, just make sure that you have the mercury switch pointing to the center of the fan so when it turns on the mercury will turn on the lights!

NOTE:
I have tried attaching them to the top of the fan aiming them at the ceiling, and to the bottom aiming them down onto the floor. It really just depends on the mood you want to create.

WARNING: MAKE SURE THE LIGHTS ARE SECURE BEFORE TURNING ON THE FAN. IF THEY ARE NOT, THEY CAN FLY OFF AND CAUSE DAMAGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES CAUSED BY THIS PROJECT. ALSO BE AWARE THAT MERCURY IS POISINOUS-- BE AWARE OF THIS WHEN USING AROUND CHILDREN OR ANIMALS.
BE SAFE AND HAVE FUN!

Yeah, was surprised to see that mercury switch, don't see them much anymore. For something like this, kind of risky. If the board flies off, and slung up against a wall or something, tiny pieces of glass is hard enough, but the mercury is even worse. Really bad for pets and small kids crawling around. The tiny amount wouldn't do much to an adult.

Also, you might want to balance it out by putting a counterweight on the opposite blade that the light is on. If the fan spins fast enough while out of balance it could shake unstablely and maybe do some damage.